Railroad-crossing.



C. A. HUBER.

RAILROAD CROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED AIIG.9. IsIs.

Patented Oct. 9, 1917.

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I l l Il Il il II II II II II II n H uuuuuI-luuuuuulyu gII II WITNESSES:

CARL A.. HUBER, F ROCHESTER.,` NEW YORK.

RAILROAD-CROSE ING.

Specification of Letten Patent.

Patented Oct. 9, 1917.

Application led August 9, 1916. Serial No. 113,898.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CARL A. HUBER, of

v Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad- Crossings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying,r drawings, forming a part of this speciiication, and to the reference chai'- acters marked thereon My invention has for its purpose to afford a safe-guard for railroad crossings of the type where the highway is upon the same level with the tracks or rails, and to accomplish this object hy compelling one driw ing along the highway to retard the rate of travel to a moderate speed before crossing the tracks, and to drive for a short distance in the same general direction as thc tracks and Within plain sight of them. so that the vehicle may he under perfect control during the act of crossing and the driver may have a reasonable chance of learning of the approach of a train before crossing. To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements in railroad crossings, all as Will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing a railroad crossing constructed in accordance with my improvement, and

Fi 2 is a plan view of a'modi fied form in Whic the main road or highway approaches the` railroad tracks at an angle other than ninety degrees. l

My invention is desi d to solve the problem presented by the numerous accidents and fatalities due chiefly to the4 increasing use of motor vehicles andy the carelessness or forgetfulness displayed by drivers when eroing railroad tracks. viaduct or bridge, is of course a safe solution, but to install these at every rural railroad crossing throughout the extensive railroad systems would involve an expense that makes it prohibitive and it vis my purpose to construct a grade crossing at a comparatively nominal cost and provide an arrangement that will effectually prevent a driver from crossing a railroad track at any other than an extremely moderate rate of speed and without making at leasf a casual obscl vation before crossing, to determine if there is an approaching train.

Vv'ih this brief general outline the inventic n consists more particularly in providing an ofi-'set portieri in the main road or highw 1y which will necessitate the drivers makingr a sharp turn from the path of the main highway before crossing the railroad track, the o set ortion including a crossing road extending over the track. The crossing road is preferably connected With the main highway, on both sides of the track, 'Vith stretches of road that extend general'. y in a direction at an angle to the main highway and these connecting stretches between the main road and the crossing road are preerabf7 parallel to the track. They extend for a istance sufliciently close to and in the general direction of the railroad track to afford an opportunity for a driver of a vehicle traveling on them to observe the railroad track in either direction before crossing it. thus giving him a fair opportunity to discover the approach of a train. While it may bc said that under ordinary present conditions of a grade crossing, a driver is enabled to observe the approach of a train from either direction, the safety fea ture is absent because in the majority of cases the speed of the vehicle is not suiliciently decreased when nearing a railroad track to afford a driver the proper opportunity for observation, Whereas with my present construction the turns in the road from the main highway into the stretches leading to the crossing road and from the,

stretches into the crossing road, necessitate decreasing the speed so materially as to preclude the probability of not hearing or see# ing an approaching train. It is possible to insure turning from the main road into the lateral stretches by providing obstructions in the path of the main highway between it and the railroad track so that of necessity a. vehicle driver must turn from the main road and approach the crossing road by travelin in the same general direction as the trac and in full view of it, and is effectively prevented from driving directly across the track in the general direction ofthe highwar I have disclosed in this application t", general adaptations of m ,invention whi are illustrative of practicable methods -of i tions may be adopted without dcpartinr from the underlyingr features and spirit oli the invention. ln Fig. l there is represented a main road or highway approaching the railroad at right angles and designated by A, while Il are the tracks of the railroad. C designates the crossing road extending over the tracks B and oli'sct from the main road A. The crossing road C is connected with the main road A by stretches Dwhich extend along the railroad tracks and suf ficiently close to keep them in full view and in a direction at an an le to the main road A and preferably para lel to the tracks \B although the purpose may be accomplished by having the stretches D in other than a parallel relation to the tracks as long as they serre to odset the crossing road from the main road and necessitate a double turn from the main road before reaching the railroad tracks, and also cause a vehicle driver to proceed in the general direction of the tracks for a short distance and in full view of them. While I do not intend to limit the length of the road stretches l), it is to be understood that they need not be unneccs sarily long but only of sufficient extent to. cause the driver to proceed in view of the tracks at slow speed far enough to permit him having reasonable warning of an ap preaching train and for ordinary purposes it would be suiiicient if the road stretches D are of the saine length or slightly longer than the length of the crossing road C. In order to insure making the turn from the main road into the stretches D, and eifectzr ally obviate crossing the tracks in the direct line of the main highway I may provide obstacles or abutments E of any suitable form and 4arrange them in the path of the main road and between it and the railroad tracks as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 illustrates a modification of the idea for application to a road approaching r'. a railroad track at an angle other than a right angle7 and in this form, the main road 'is designated at F and the crossing road at G while the latter is connected with the main road on opposite sides of the track by the stretches H extending in the same y general direction as the railroad track and preferably Aparallel thereto. In the particular arrangement shown, the road stretches H are of unequal length although they may be made of the samelength or the crossing road G may extend across the tracks at an angle other than a right angle without departing from the underlying feature of my improvement which consists in providing a crossing road extendin over a railroad track or tracks and o set from the main road or highway, the crossing road being reached from the main road by stretches extending in full view of the railroad and in the same general direction.

Applicants structure consists in a highway road with an offset ortion which at its outer part crosses a railroad track at a distance from the main line of the highway and includcs'luteral road stretches extendinf.:q For track observation purposes alon or in the general direction of the track and connecting the track crossing portion of the highway with its main line, and wherein the double turns of the highway at the junction of its main line with the lateral road stretches and at the junction o1 said stretches with the track crossing portion of the highway, are formed in sufficiently sharp curves or'bends to compel an ordinary vehicle rapidly traveling on the highway to slacken its speed as it approaches the railroad track from either direction and thus assure its sate crossing of the railroad track.

It is common in cities or towns to lay out intersecting streets with rounded ark or monument sites interposed at their Junction and to extend Hush-laid railroad tracks .along1r one of the streets and clear across the rounded open area at said junction, but this relative arrangement of streets and railroad trai-ks docs not provide sufficiently abrupt turns or bends of the street which crosses the tracks to positively compel slackening ot the speed of an automobile or other ordinary vehicle rapidly passing through the street, prior to crossing the tracks, and therefore, the obviously valuable life-saving benefits and advantages of this invention are not here realized. These benefits and advantages can be realized only by such relative arrangement of the highway and the railway tracks as will compel slackening of the speed of an ordinary vehicle rapidly traveling on the highway, before crossing the tracks, while also giving ample opportunity while traveling over the comparatively long lateral stretches of the offset portion of the highway, to discover the presence of a train or car approahin the highway on the tracks from either'v ection, to promote or assure the safety of passengers in a vehicle about to cross the railway tracks.

I claim as my invention:

1. In railroad crossings, the combination with a railroad track, of a highway road approaching the track from one side and continuing at its o posits side and having an intermediate o 'set portion crossing the railroad track at a place distant from the main line of the hig way, said track crossing highway lportion being conneted to the main line of t e highway by lateral stretches thereof extendin one at each side of the railroad track an inthe same general direction and giving full view of the track from a vehicle traveling on said lateral stretches in either direction, said lateral highway stretches being connected to the main line thereof extcndin 2. In railroad crossings, the combination with a railroad` track, of a highway road approaching the track from one side and continuing at its o positc side and having an intermediate ollset portion crossing the railroad track at a lace distant from the main line of the hig way, said track crossing highway ortion being connected to the main line of tlie highway by lateral stretches one at each side of the railroad track an in the same general direc j tion and givin full view of the track from a vehicle trave ing on said lateral stretches in either direction, said lateral highway stretches being connected to the main line oli' the highway and to the railroad track crossing portion thereof by sharp curves or bends compelling an ordinary vehicle rap? idly traveling on the highway to slacken its speed as it approaches and crosses the railroad track from either direction, and obstructions located in the line of the highway where it merges into its ofset portion and assuring passage from the highwa into its offset portion of an ordinary ve icle approaching said offset highway portion from either side of the railroad track.

2i. In railroad crossings, the combination with a railroad track normally obstructing the crossing of ordinary vehicles, of a highway road approachin the railroad track from one side and continuing at its opposite side and having an intermediate communicating offset ortion crossing the railroad track and bui t up about level therewith to insure safe passage of ordinary vehicles across the track at a place distant from the main line of the highway, 'said offset hi hway ortion including lateral stretc es thereo rangin one at each side of the railroad track and in the same general direction and giving full view of 1t from a vehicle traveling on the highway in either direction.

4. In railroad crossings, the combination with a railroad track normally obstructing the crossing of ordinary vehicles, of a highway road approaching the railroad track from one side and continuing at its opposite side and having an intermediate communieating offset portion crossin the railroad track and built up about leve` therewith to insure safe passage of ordinary vehicles across the track at a place distant from the main line of the highway, said olset hi hway portion including lateral stretc es thereof ranging one at each side of the railwa track and in the same eneral direction and ving full view of t e track from a vehici traveling on said lateral stretches in either direction, said lateral highway stretches being connected to the main line of the highway and to the railroad track crossing portion thereof by sharpv curves or bends compelling an ordinary vehicle rapidly traveling on the highway to slacken its speed as it approaches and crosses the railroad track from either direction.

l CARL A. HUBER. Witnesses:

H. E. SToNnnAKnn, RUSSELL B. Gnmrrn.

Iso 

